By Valentina PopEU Observer
Photo: Wikipedia
US government officials are likely to tell the Polish and Czech governments on Thursday that Washington will scrap the planned missile defence shield in their countries, as the threat of long-range missiles from Iran is less imminent.
The Obama envoys are expected to brief lawmakers and government officials in Warsaw and Prague on the results of the seven-month review commissioned by President Barack Obama, unnamed sources in Washington told the Associated Press.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that the White House is to shelve the Bush-era plan, "a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe."
The Obama administration's assessment concludes that long-range missile threat from Iran is a far lesser one than short and medium-range, making the case for the development of "regional missile defenses" for Europe, which are far less controversial for Russia, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
The multi-billion-dollar project agreed last year planned to install 10 interceptor missiles at a facility in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic.
Warsaw also managed to secure a US promise of a battery of Patriot missiles to be permanently based on Polish territory as a defence against possible Russian attack – a security guarantee Poland had sought ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Some 120 American soldiers would have been deployed at the interceptor base in northern Poland, and US soldiers would also have operated the Patriot missiles.
Now the plan seems to shift more towards "rotating" Patriot missiles, which would "tour" Europe and also be stationed at some point in Poland....(Remainder.)
